Celebrating in the light of Christ.

5 July (Fourteenth Sunday of the Year), Year B

FAITH AND REJECTION

Mark 6:1-6

Being rejected, questioned, and doubted were not new or foreign experiences to Jesus. Since the beginning of his public ministry, he was an open target to the religious leaders of his day. What we hear in today's Gospel, though, is that those with whom Jesus lived and grew, rejected him. Their questions: "Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom… What mighty deeds…" (Mark 6:2) seem to echo more cynicism and suspicion than awe.

The pain of rejection is something most of us experience at one time or another. Whether we are rejected for things we say or do, for how we believe and live, or even for how we dress and with whom we associate, the pain of being misunderstood and not accepted can run very deep. After people have an experience that brings them to explore their faith on a whole new level, they may find themselves being chided or teased by those with whom they are most familiar.

Jesus' very human response to the crowd's rejection is one of amazement. He is bringing to his "native place" (Mark 6:1) the good news of salvation, yet the people will not hear it and so his ability to work the same kind of miracles as he did for Jairus' daughter and the woman with the haemorrhage is dramatically diminished. Yet that did not stop him from doing what he was able to do or from carrying on with the work to which he was called.

When how we live changes because of a faith or conversion experience, it is helpful to remember that we are not alone when we face rejection and misunderstanding from the people to whom we are closest. Jesus gives us the very grace he possessed so that we may carry on and be faithful to the work at hand.

RENEW International